(Neil Morris) 



I'll tell you about Jesse and Frank James 

My grandfather was personally acquainted with them 

My grandfather lived in the southern edge of Baxter County, Arkansas 

And they stayed all night with him lots of nights 

And my grandfather told me there was a lot of those robberies that was layed to Jesse and Frank James 

And he knew they didn't do it 'cause they was at his place when it happened 

But you couldn't tell the public that 

When they get their minds made up that somebody's done something 

Why the public's gonna stick to it anyway 

My grandfather, he knew them as boys 

And they could come to his place and go without anybody paying attention 'cause nobody expected them 

Down in Arkansas, see, 'cause they was from Missouri 

Now that's the story that my grandfather told me when I was just a boy 

And he said that Frank James, at that World's Fair, 

I think it was 1901 in St. Louis him and Jesse were both there 

My grandfather and Frank James were together there 

And that Frank James offered to bring Jesse there alive 

He said that the man that the Ford boys killed wasn't Jesse James at all 

But the fellow they killed was just about the size of Jesse and he was red headed 

And he wasn't any relation to the Fords 

See, Jesse James was a known cousin to Charles and Bob Ford 

That's what my grandfather said 

He said Jesse and Frank were not even in that part of the country when that fellow was killed 

And the Ford boys, why, they collected a thousand dollars for killing Jesse James! 

Now the song says that the Ford boys killed Jesse 

None of us up here in the mountains believe that, no sir!